Welch Public Schools is planning for the future and needs the community’s help. Today, the district is launching a strategic planning initiative with a community survey.

“Welch is a great school with high-quality teachers and talented students,” board President Shane Burgess said. “I am hopeful the strategic planning process will help us position the district as one of the best schools in the area and ensure our students receive the highest quality education possible.”

The school district is working with the Oklahoma State School Boards Association and K20 Center for Education Community Renewal at the University of Oklahoma to facilitate the planning process, which has been used by other school districts throughout the state.

“I am very excited about the Continuous Strategic Improvement initiative,” Superintendent Clark McKeon said. “The CSI process will provide our district with a clear direction for the future based upon community, parent, and staff input. CSI will clearly define district goals, strategies to achieve those goals, and criteria to access the degree of goal attainment.

School officials said community involvement in the process is critical, and community members can provide input through a survey and attending community forums.

“It is my sincere hope that, through the CSI experience, the community and school will unite together in an effort to make WPS a top-notch school district for the students of Welch,” McKeon said.

The survey will remain open for input until Sept. 13 and is available on the Welch Public Schools website at www.welchwildcats.net. Community forums will be held Sept. 9-10; times and locations will be announced soon. Planning teams involving community, business and school district representatives will use student achievement data, results from the survey and forums and research to develop a continuous improvement strategic plan.

A proposed plan is expected to be presented for school board for approval in May 2020.